Argent Trust Co Acquires 2,408 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Argent Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,764 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,408 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $7,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Range Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Philip Morris International by 504.9% during the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,758,000 after buying an additional 19,127 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 100,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,134,000 after purchasing an additional 16,035 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,912,000 after acquiring an additional 6,605 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 53,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,485,000 after acquiring an additional 18,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its stake in Philip Morris International by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 337,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,572,000 after purchasing an additional 20,390 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, SVP Yann Guerin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $378,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,584,994.24. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Reginaldo Dobrowolski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $749,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,117,354.12. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,822 shares of company stock worth $19,655,585 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of Philip Morris International stock traded up $1.25 during trading on Thursday, reaching $153.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 801,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,556,567. Philip Morris International Inc. has a one year low of $87.82 and a one year high of $163.08. The firm has a market cap of $238.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $151.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.20.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.06. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 7.89% and a negative return on equity of 120.08%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PM shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Philip Morris International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Argus raised Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Philip Morris International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.56.

About Philip Morris International

Philip Morris International Inc operates as a tobacco company working to delivers a smoke-free future and evolving portfolio for the long-term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The company's product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products primarily under the IQOS and ZYN brands; and consumer accessories, such as lighters and matches.